(RNS) A federal appeals court has denied a bid by a German family to obtain asylum in the U.S., rejecting their claims that they will face persecution back home for their decision to home-school their children.

(RNS) Home-schooling families in Europe have become a cause celebre for some U.S. conservatives, who are rallying around a family in Tennessee who could face fines or loss of custody if forced to return to their native Germany.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Lutheran leaders have warned the Vatican that the creation of a structure to welcome conservative Lutherans into the Catholic Church would harm dialogue and damage ecumenical relations.

(RNS) Jews and Muslims in Germany are relieved that a tumultuous political controversy over circumcision in Germany has ended with passage of a law that allows the practice for religious reasons. By Lauren Markoe.

(RNS) Finding and portraying the “real” Martin Luther on film has not been a task for the faint of heart. Yet wherever Protestants (and Catholics) gather and wherever the political history of Europe is told, the ghost of Martin Luther is present and cannot be avoided. By David Steinmetz.

(RNS) Beliefs about circumcision will not be easy to change, but questioning circumcision is already happening for Jews. A proposed law in Germany to ban circumcision on young boys offers a chance to expand the debate and move the conversation forward. By Ronald Goldman.

CLEVELAND (RNS) Former Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk died Saturday (March 17) in Germany, ending nearly 35 years of legal battles with officials in three countries who claimed he was a guard in a Nazi death camp. He was 91. By John Caniglia.